§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have been taken to reduce the level of unemployment in the Banff and Buchan employment area; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Allan StewartI refer my hon. Friend to my reply to his question of 26 March, at column81.
The Government's economic strategy, designed to keep inflation down and provide the conditions in which enterprise can flourish and industry can be competitive, forms the general framework within which more jobs can be created in Banff and Buchan as in the rest of the country. Also, the Government's full range of special employment and training measures continues to be available to people in the Banff and Buchan areas.
§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new jobs he estimates have been created in Scotland in 1983 and 1984 by (a) incoming firms, (b) Scottish-based firms and (c) new companies.
§ Mr. Allan StewartComprehensive information on jobs created is not available. In the years 1983 and 1984 respectively, 11,134 and 14,212 new jobs were associated with offers of selective financial assistance under section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 for projects in Scotland. Of these totals 5,127 and 7,962 were associated with offers to overseas-owned companies.